About

ALEXANDRIA

$63,978

pledged of $20,000 goal

1,400

backers

Centuries before the first universities, the internet and the modern era of scientific discovery there was the Great Library of Alexandria.

Created to store the world's knowledge, its scribes would copy every book found on every ship that entered Alexandria, and would go on to accumulate untold volumes of history, mathematics, geography, politics and more.

Unfortunately, it was not to last. It was destroyed during the many conquests of Alexandria, and all that knowledge was lost forever.

We may never really know how it happened, but the compelling story of its destruction has inspired us to publish this unconventional game. Join us in retelling the story of the burning of the Great Library!

The game as presented here is exactly what we imagined a great eurogame to be. It contains 138 unique illustrations by Vincent Dutrait and Asterman Studio, which aim to evoke a feeling of exploration and adventure.

Alexandria is complete and includes the highest quality card & cardboard material, as with all our games - 2mm thick cardboard, linen finish, 320gr-weight cardstock, the works.

However, we also have a "dream" version of the game, with custom-shaped wooden tokens that enhance the playing experience. For that we will order a limited amount of custom-shaped wooden token sets:

These tokens are meant to replace the cardboard tiles and give a more tactile playing experience. Just like our previous "big" game, CRISIS, availability of this edition may be limited.

Designed by Babis Giannios (KUNE v LAKIA, Shadows over the Empire), Alexandria is a eurogame that takes 45-60 minutes to play, albeit a more unconventional one. With asymmetrical gameplay and a shrinking gameplay area, parts of the library are slowly consumed by fire as Heroes seek the treasures within it.

Each of the four Heroes in the game has a different reason for being in the library at the time, and each one has different skills and motivations.

As they move through the randomly-generated layout of the library, the Heroes interact with what they find in the rooms, as well as with each other.

They position themselves to take advantage of the situation as it unfolds, and must manage their time wisely.

In so doing they may rescue books, items or persons and be rewarded with fame. Throughout the game they are confronted by their shared destiny, and this will lead to the dramatic end that defines the ultimate fate of the library.

For more details on the components and rules of Alexandria, download the rule book here (5 MB, right click and Save as…).

Please download this file, as PDFs viewed in-browser may not display properly. This file is the low-resolution version of the rules document.

As usual, we offer you the chance to try the game before you back the campaign. The game has been implemented on Tabletopia, and you can play for free here:

Keep in mind that prototype components and some placeholder art is shown below. For example, the Hero boards will be cut to a custom shape around the illustration. Please refer to the contents graphic for up to date images.

We expect to fulfill all rewards from within the EU, and as a result EU backers do not have to worry about customs or VAT.

We are not able to offer multiple-game pledge levels through the campaign because we need to have a clear picture of how many copies to make - which will be just a few more than we need for the campaign. Since we already subsidize the shipping costs, a bulk pledge would not even save any money.

However, we do expect to have a post-campaign pledge manager via Backerkit, which allows us to manage stock levels.

Shipments to backers outside of the EU will have 35 EUR declared as the value of the package. That's roughly equivalent to 41 USD / 52 CAD / 52 AUD / 40 CHF / 4548 JPY / 46740 KRW. Note that we can not be responsible for any customs fees.

Tracking is not offered through this campaign. If tracking is important to you, please contact us via the KS messaging system before the campaign is over.
Please note that we can not take any responsibility for any lost or damaged copies to Brazil, Hungary, Russia, or South Africa.

Even though we will be exhibiting at Spiel, and we hope to have Alexandria there, we are not able to offer pickup in Essen. There are many reasons for that, including the risk that it will not be produced in time, the limited space and time needed to hold and hand out copies to backers whose identity we need to confirm, backers not picking up their game, and more. If you would like to get your game there, it is better to not back the campaign (or back for $1 to follow it), and buy it on site. However, we can not guarantee we will have enough copies for everyone. We expect that the price will be 40-50+ EUR, depending on the edition, and on whether we have any Deluxe copies for sale.

What You See Is What You Get - this is our doctrine, and we like to run simple, straightforward campaigns. We are aware that add-ons and/or stretch goals would increase the funding total. However, we have already thrown everything into this game - a lot of time, effort, and money.

We also want to offer the game at the cheapest cost possible - and that is incompatible with stretch goals. We'd have to add "hidden" profit in the pledge levels that we can then "spend" to give you stretch goals - nothing is for "free". Therefore, raising money beyond our goal does not give us extra money on hand to create stretch goals.

Furthermore, because the games are made in Europe in a small print run, we do not benefit from economies of scale by producing a few more copies of the game.

We do not offer add-ons (not even our other games) during the campaign, because we want to keep our operations simple and deliver efficiently. We may however be able to offer a post-campaign chance to obtain other games, if stock levels and our operations allow. We are in this for the long run, so it does not help us to squeeze a few more dollars from a few backers, if we would disappoint *all* backers. We have a reputation for shipping on time or early, and this is how we minimize the risk of missing our deadlines.

Finally, we do not pay anyone to give an opinion on our games.

Risks and challenges

Our previously launched campaigns in 2017 are still in progress and on schedule. Long Live The Queen and IUNU are in production. Diesel Demolition Derby is now in the campaign phase, but print prep has already started, and is expected to be on schedule. This project is independent of any other. We are working with a manufacturer we have worked with before, and we are confident in our ability to deliver the game and any additional materials. That said, unforeseen events may affect how quickly fulfillment is conducted, and the graphics and components seen here are subject to change (however improbable). We will be exhibiting at Essen, and it is possible that some backers or other people may have the game in hand before you do, although we plan to ship your games first. Note that our goal is to ship the game on time, by the dates listed on the pledge levels. Shipping a package is different than delivering a package. We do not deliver your game; the shipping company does. Therefore, delivery times will vary according to your local postal service. Once we ship, the shipment is the responsibility of the shipping company. If tracking is important to you, please let us know before pledging. If your reward does not arrive, it is returned to us, so we need you to patiently wait until that happens. Many times we have re-sent a reward only for the backer to receive both the original and the replacement. Informal currency conversions made on this campaign may not be accurate by the time you read this and may therefore result in seemingly cheaper prices in the future. Please do not play with fire, especially near any invaluable ancient papyri (or was it papyruses?) you may be responsible for. Always check the structural integrity of a room before you enter it. Read books. Eat Nutella. Play more games. By backing this project, you indicate that you have read, understood, and agreed with the above. If you have any questions, please contact us directly via the KS messaging system.